Thanks to the help of the cards to the right, members in the Elgin Communications Center are on the front lines of saving lives.

Read more on page 4.

Democrats in the House and Senate have stood behind public workers in Illinois, voting to pass a budget to make sure all state workers receive a paycheck as usual. Every Republican Representative and Senator voted no or did not vote to support, standing in fear behind the billionaire governor.

It’s time for a fair budget for all of Illinois! Call the governor at 217.782.0244 and tell him to work on a budget for all of Illinois, not just his millionaire friends!

COURT VICTORY ENSURES PAYCHECKS FOR STATE WORKERSWithout a budget, it looked like the state would not live up to its contract with state workers, including members at the Secretary of State and Department of Natural Resources. We joined with our sisters and brothers in unions representing state workers in a lawsuit against the Comptroller’s office.

On July 9, a St. Clair County judge heard the case of public worker unions (including Local 73) against the state Comptroller’s office to determine if the state is in violation of union contracts by not paying employees their full wage.

The judge ruled the Comptroller must process pay for all state workers as usual. The Comptroller agreed with the decision and has processed paychecks as usual, so hard-working public servants will not miss a paycheck while this budget showdown continues.

THANK YOUR DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATOR!We are at an important crossroads in our state’s future. The last few months have shown the true changing nature of our political landscape in Springfield. While Republicans have stood behind Governor Rauner, every Democratic State Representative and State Senator has stood strong with public workers and their support is more appreciated than ever.

If you live in a district with a Democrat State Representative or State Senator, call their office and thank them for their support!

GOVERNOR & REPUBLICANS CONTINUE TO HOLD ILLINOIS HOSTAGE DURING BUDGET SHOWDOWN

The state of Illinois has entered the second month without a budget with no end to this showdown in sight. When the legislative session in Springfield ended May 31 without a budget, it left many questions unanswered. Would state workers receive a paycheck without a budget? Would schools be fully funded to open the 2015-16 school year? Will municipalities receive their usual funding to maintain

quality services?

Members of the Secretary of State bargaining committee show their support for their sisters and brothers in the state workforce. Stop by a Local 73 office for your own

“We Support State Workers” yard sign!

Two courts, including the highest court in the state, have announced

important rulings in the last few months on the future of pensions for public workers.

Read more on page 2.

MORE 73 NEWS

CITY OF CHICAGO PENSION BILL STRUCK DOWN

The City of Chicago faces a $28-billon shortfall to their pension system and have said money for pensions may dry up and not have funds available as soon as 2028 without any reform. Knowing change was needed, we joined with nearly every union representing City workers to support Senate Bill 1922, a pension reform bill negotiated between labor unions and Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s staff.

While slight changes were made to the benefits for current and future workers, this bill made sure pension systems would be fully funded so there was a stable retirement available when every city worker retires.

Last month, a Cook County Circuit Court judge struck down SB 1922. This decision does not ensure a pension will be there for all city workers upon retirement. We need a real solution for pension reform today!

PENSION UPDATECOURTS RULE THAT A PENSION IS A PROMISE!

73 News - A bi-monthly publication for SEIU Local 73 members2

SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUS DECISION:SB 1 IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL!

Unlike the City of Chicago pension reform bill, there was no negotiating of Senate Bill 1, the unfair and unconstitutional pension reform bill passed in December 2013.

In the months since Senate Bill 1 was passed, our stance has never wavered: this unfair attack on the pensions of hard-working public employees was blatantly unconstitutional. In May, the highest court in the state, the Illinois Supreme Court, unanimously upheld our belief and affirmed that Senate Bill 1 was unconstitutional.

As a strong partner in the We Are One Illinois coalition, we applaud the Illinois Supreme Court for upholding the Constitution of the State of Illinois.

Special Education took a severe hit in the layoffs announced by CPS last month. These layoffs came about after the state legislature refused to grant CPS a delay in paying $634-million in overdue pension money. After the pension payment was made, the first move CPS made was to try and balance the budget with cuts that hurt students who need help the most.

Funding for the 50,000 special education students in CPS was cut by $42-million because CPS uses a higher (and more humane and effective) student to staff ratio for special education students than what the Illinois State Board of Education ratio is. With this ratio changed to meet the state’s standards, hundreds of Special Education Classroom Assistants are being laid off, and thousands of special education students in Chicago schools will be impacted.

To make matters worse for students and parents, CPS cut another $135-million in transportation costs by changing start times for 82 elementary and high schools. Staggered school start times will mean there will be fewer buses running and the possible elimination of more than half of the existing school bus stops across the city. Parents have already begun to voice their concerns against these changes, citing safety concerns for students who now must be at school at 7:30 a.m., and those who would be required to walk more than a mile to a school bus stop.

There could be call backs for the new school year once principals assess their overall staffing needs. This will be done according to the strong recall rights we have in our contract. We will protect the contractual seniority rights of members in any call-back process where a member’s position has been re-opened.

Make no mistake: these layoffs are the product of a failed funding formula that denies CPS administration to properly budget for a quality education. Every time there is yet another deficit to be filled, it is the students and the staff who pay the price, with special education students paying the most this time. Funding should go to classrooms, not creditors, but the lack of proper funding is having the opposite impact. This year alone, some 20% of unrestricted general aide to CPS from the state will be spent on debt payments. By 2020, some 70% of that aid will go to paying off debt.

This trend cannot continue! We need school funding reform quickly. SAVE OUR SCHOOLS!

THE CPS MOUNTAIN OF DEBT: BILLIONS AND COUNTINGWHO REALLY PAYS? OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF

In MeMory

TIM McDonalD1961 - 2015

The Local 73 family suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of SEIU Local 73 Vice President Tim McDonald on June 3. He was 53 years old.

Tim was with Local 73 since December 1998 when we merged the public division of Local 1 into 73. Prior to that, Tim was a major builder of the SEIU. He founded and built his Maywood chapter of the Firefighters and he was also part of SEIU Local 11, before it merged into Local 1 and then Local 73.

Tim was dedicated public servant, devoted Brother to the labor movement, and a true warrior for public workers in Illinois. He will be greatly missed.

WHY THE COOK COUNTY TAX WAS NECESSARYThe sales tax in Cook County will increase by a penny on January 1, with that penny saving jobs and maintaining vital services county residents have relied on for years.

Several Local 73 members and retirees from Cook County joined with Vice President Betty Boles to testify in support of the sales tax increase at the Cook County Board meeting on July 15. Below are key points from Vice President Boles’ speech that day.

“SEIU Local 73 is solidly in support of President Preckwinkle’s sales tax proposal. After two years of failing to get the state legislature to make the changes necessary to securely fund our pensions, the President [Preckwinkle] is taking the next logical step. The one cent sales tax increase is necessary to cope with a deficit that is growing on a daily basis. The County pension deficit is now over $6 billion and is losing more than $30 million a month because of the failure of the deeply divided state legislature to act on pension reform.

Your responsibility as Commissioners is to bite a tough bullet so that we do not dig ourselves into a deeper hole. Although the original promise was to cut the sales tax, this cannot be done if we are to act in a fiscally responsible manner. The forecast for fiscal 2016 is a deficit of $479 million. Without increased revenue, we will continue to pile up debt in the millions. And we will be unable to implement a Long-Range Transportation Plan that would assure funding to repair and improve our deteriorating infrastructure.

This is a tough position for all of you to be in today. The unincorporated Cook County taxes tax would rise to 9% and the Chicago rate would be 10.25%. It’s important to note that 6.25% of the tax would go to the state which would then refund back 1% to the municipality where the sales occurred. After subtracting the portions that go to the RTA and Chicago, the County would only retain 1.75% of the total tax. The tax is structured in a way that only “general merchandise” would be affected. Basic needs such as non-prepared food in grocery stores, prescription medicine and medical items will be exempt, as would not-for-profit organizations serving our Cook County residents.

Governor Rauner is playing divide and conquer with us all. He has introduced a 500-page bill that would approve City and County pension reform BUT only at the expense of the other state pension plans. We cannot support this and we oppose Rauner’s plans. This is a governor who got rich through investments in state pension funds and now wants to risk the retirement security of Illinois public workers. The one penny sales tax increase needs to be passed; Cook County is nobody’s pawn and we must avoid drowning our County government in unpayable debt.”

73 News - A bi-monthly publication for SEIU Local 73 members3

Vice President Betty Boles testified in front of the Cook County Board in support of the sales

tax increase.

Former Local 73 member Arlene Meyers spoke in support of the Cook County sales tax increase.

ELGIN MEMBERS ON THE FRONT LINE OF SAVING LIVESA group of Local 73 members are the first workers in their county to be certified to help save lives over the phone in the case of an emergency.

Last month, the Illinois Department of Public Health certified the Elgin Emergency Communications Center as an Emergency Medical Dispatch agency. The group of 18 full-time dispatchers are now certified in the Emergency Medical Dispatch program, the first municipality in Kane County to receive the certification.

Instead of receiving the once-usual “help is on the way” from a 911 operator, Elgin dispatchers are now trained and certified to help in emergency situations. Every dispatcher has a set of cards in front of them: the PowerPhone Total Response Call Handling Protocol System. When a call comes in for a medical emergency, the dispatcher not only sends emergency personnel to the scene but is trained to help the caller with step-by-step medical assistance to give the best possible care and assistance before an ambulance arrives.

Maura Maschinski, president of Elgin Clerical/Technical bargaining unit and a Local 73 Executive Board member, said the new certification and use of the cards have saved numerous lives. She has been on the phone helping a breach delivery that resulted in the successful birth of a healthy baby, helping a parent while their child had a seizure, and providing proper CPR assistance until an ambulance arrived from a nearby town.

“In the past all we could do was assure them that help was on the way, and that was nerve-wracking because you were not permitted to offer medical assistance,” Maschinski said. “To me, this is well worth it because we’re saving lives every single day.”

The Elgin dispatchers answer approximately 800 calls a day for emergency and non-emergency calls for the City of Elgin, dispatch for the Elgin Police and Fire Departments as well as for the South Elgin Fire Department. This rate is one of the highest among municipalities in Illinois, and now with the certification, proves that these proud Local 73 members are delivering the best quality service possible to Elgin and South Elgin residents.

“We take great pride in what we do.” Maschinski said.

A look inside the Elgin Communications Center

MARCH FOR POLICE ACCOUNTABILITYSEIU Local 73 is one of nearly 100 endorsers of the mass march on Chicago City Hall Saturday, August 29. Our Local stands in solidarity with the movement for justice that has erupted over the excessive use of force by police, particularly in communities of color. Many of the men and women shot and/or killed by officers of the Chicago Police Department and in New York, Ferguson, Cleveland and other cities of our nation are members of fraternal unions or are members of union families.

The August 29 demonstration is calling for the establishment of a Civilian Police Accountability Council. This Council would empower people elected directly from our communities to oversee police activities and investigations of misconduct as the final authority regarding discipline and fair treatment of victims and their families. See below for more information on the rally.